New York DEC rejects independent study of fracking's health effects

ALBANY — The state has rejected the demand of scores of environmental groups for an independent health study of “fracking,” its top environmental official said Thursday.

Such a study would have significantly delayed the decision whether to allow the controversial horizontal natural gas extraction process of hydraulic fracturing - “fracking” - or the regulations to oversee it.

Instead, Department of Environmental Conservations Commissioner Joe Martens asked the state's health commissioner to “assess” the DEC's own “health impact analysis” with the help of “the most qualified outside experts.”

“I believe deferring to an outside group or entity would be an inappropriate delegation of governmental responsibility,” Martens said in a statement that noted that many “outside” experts have opinions that could influence their findings. “It is the government's responsibility to ensure objectivity and a review directed by (the) DEC and the Department of Health is without bias.”

Such a review - which seems to indicate that a decision on fracking is not imminent - would also give the state “the most legally defensible” position when that decision, or the regulations, are released, Martens said.